Advertisement

Dominic Chappell: Man who bought BHS for £1 to be prosecuted

Dominic Chappell, the man who bought the retailer BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green, is to be prosecuted by The Pensions Regulator.

Mr Chappell faces three charges of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents about its sale without a reasonable excuse.

Under Mr Chappell's tenure as owner of BHS, £8.4 million was taken out of the chain by Retail Acquisitions, which he headed, with £6 million still owed when it collapsed.

BHS plunged into administration last year, impacting 11,000 jobs and around 19,000 pension holders, leaving a £571 million pension deficit.

Retail Acquisitions was put into liquidation in May although Mr Chappell said at the time he would challenge the court ruling.

Sir Philip Green gave evidence to a committee of MP about the collapse of BHS last year. Credit: PA

After a drawn-out saga that included a parliamentary inquiry and public outcry over both Mr Chappell's and Sir Philip's conduct, the Topshop tycoon agreed to pay £363 million to settle the BHS pension scheme in February.

Frank Field, the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: "If The Pensions Regulator is frightened of landing the whale, I suppose going after the sprat is the next best thing.

"Why was Sir Philip Green allowed to get away with an inadequate settlement, in which pensions have been cut, yet Dominic Chappell is going to be sued?

"I’ll be consulting the House of Commons’ lawyers on when I can begin to unlock that puzzle, so that Mr Chappell has a fair trial."